Penn State Athletics: Nittany Lions Lead NCAA With 18 National Titles Since 2007

How good has Penn State gotten at winning national titles? Take a look at the numbers.

This past weekend, Coach Cael Sanderson directed Penn State to its fifth NCAA Wrestling Championship in the past six years with a dominating performance in Madison Square Garden. Led by national champions Nico Megaludis (125 lbs.) and Zain Retherford (149) and three more finalists, the Nittany Lions rolled up 123.0 points to push past Oklahoma State (97.5), Ohio State (86) and Virginia Tech (82). Penn State also captured its fifth Big Ten Championship in the past six years earlier this month.

Last December, Coach Erica Walsh guided the Penn State women’s soccer program to its first NCAA Championship, with a 1-0 victory over Duke in Cary, N.C. The Nittany Lions were led by senior Raquel Rodriguez, who won the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate player. The Nittany Lions also won their 17th Big Ten Championship in the past 18 years and captured their sixth conference tournament title last fall.

The Nittany Lions have won at least one NCAA title in each of the past 10 academic years, starting in 2006-07.

Penn State’s 18 NCAA Championships are at least double the number of NCAA titles won by every Big Ten Conference institution over the past nine years. Since 1992-93, the Nittany Lions’ 29 NCAA Championships are more than double every Big Ten school that has competed in the conference for at least two full years (Nebraska has 13 titles, Minnesota and Ohio State have 12).

The Nittany Lions have seen six different teams combine to win their 18 national titles over the past nine years. Penn State has had NCAA crowns earned by women’s volleyball (6), wrestling (5), men’s and women’s fencing (4), men’s gymnastics (1), women’s soccer (1) and men’s volleyball (1).

Florida and Stanford are tied for fourth with 15 NCAA titles since March 2007, followed by UCLA (14), Alabama (10) and Texas A&M (10).